Sakura Blossoms
by firelily18
Summary: AU. When her father never returns from his hunting expedition, Chihiro frantically tries to find him. Only to find he has accidentally made his way into the Spirit World and is being held hostage by a large, powerful, and terrifying monster. And she is told by this creature that the only way for her father to be spared...is for her to take his place. Based on Beauty and the Beast.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or Beauty and the Beast. Enjoy!**_

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young water god lived in a shining castle surrounded by vast lands all belonging to him. Although he had everything his heart desired, the water god was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winter's night, two old beggar women came to the castle and offered him a single Sakura blossom in return for shelter from the bitter cold.

Repulsed by their haggard appearance, the water god sneered at the gift, and turned the old women away. But they warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for true beauty is found within. And when he dismissed them again, the old women's ugliness melted away to reveal two beautiful Enchantresses. The water god tried to apologize, but it was too late, for they had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, they transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle and the rest of his lands, and all who lived there. They also stole his name, so he could never leave.

The water god, ashamed of his monstrous form, concealed himself inside his castle with only a magic mirror as a window to the outside world. The Sakura blossom they had offered was truly an enchanted blossom, which would only begin to bloom once the girl who would set them all free entered the lands.

If he could learn to love her and earn her love in return, then the spell would be broken and his name remembered. If not, he would be doomed to trapped within his grounds and would remain a beast for all time. As the centuries passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love...a Beast?

_**Disclaimer: So do you like? Hate? This is just the prologue. Leave a review if you want me to continue!**_


	2. The Woods

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away or Beauty and the Beast. I write this story just for fun. I do not get paid for it. Now on with the chapter!**_

Chihiro stood in front of her small home with a troubled expression on her face. Her father still hadn't arrived back from his hunting trip and the sun was beginning to set. Normally she wouldn't be that worried, her father was always late. But that's only because he picked up something special for her. A beautiful shaped stone, a basket full of peaches, and sometimes even pretty flowers to decorate the house with. But even then he was only one or two hours late at the most.

He was over four hours late now.

And he never arrived after sunset! _Never!_

On top of that it was his birthday today and she had made his favorite meal for dinner, and he would never be late for that! He had _never_ been late for any of his birthday meals for as long as she could remember. And now that they were poor, he always looked forward to his birthday and special holidays. It was the one time where they would splurge and enjoy themselves. Most days they barely had enough money for rice, so he was _always_ early for those special occasions. It didn't make any sense that he would be this late, especially on his birthday!

Chihiro stood outside for hours in her coat and boots, staring at the woods beyond her house, waiting for her father to come out of them. She had told herself hours ago that if her father didn't arrive by the time the sun set, she would go look for him. She would have gone to the village to ask for help but it was at least an hour to get there and she didn't want to waste any more time than she already had. Oh of course she was always warned by her father countless times never to enter the woods, always to stay on the path that led directly to the marketplace. But this was an emergency! For all she knew her father could be lying in a ditch somewhere-

"That's it!" Chihiro firmly said to herself, shaking off those terrible thoughts, while running into her house to grab her supplies. "I've done enough standing around and not doing anything! I'm going to find him myself!"

She gathered some food she would need for the trip (She had no idea how long she'd be out there) and some medical supplies, just in case. Trying to quell the thoughts of her father being sick or injured, she quickly gathered everything into a basket, grabbed her lantern, and went to leave the house. But before she left, she noticed her father's present sitting on the couch. She had left it there so when her father came home she could give it to him after he finished his dinner. She looked at it for a few seconds, debating whether or not she would want to take it. After a while she took the present and carefully put it into her coat pocket. She would give it to her father when she found him. At least then he could have a present for his birthday since she had to throw the spoiled food away so it wouldn't attract rodents. She opened the front door and quickly left the house.

.

To say the woods were dark and scary would be like saying a person was just a little bit sick when in reality they had smallpox.

A _huge_ understatement.

The trees were ominous looking, with their bare branches and roots that reached out of the ground. The wind was blowing so fierce it made an eerie howl in the air that chilled her to the bones. She could also hear a lot of strange noises. Some she recognized, like a squirrel scampering up a tree or an owl hooting. But some noises were just sinister, unnatural, and so downright terrifying that she couldn't even _begin_ to try to explain them. Chihiro could also see many animals eyes just staring at her. Not their bodies, just their eyes. And they looked like they were _glowing_.

She was only a few feet into the forest, and already she wanted to turn back, completely petrified of what she might see or hear if she ventured deeper inside.

But the thing she found that frightened her the most wasn't the dead looking trees, the unearthly sounds, or the eyes that gazed at her from beyond the darkness.

It was the feeling of uneasiness.

She felt it as soon as she took the first step into the forest. Warning bells began to go off in her head and the deeper she went, the louder they got. There was just something not right about these woods. There was something _strange_ about them, something Chihiro just couldn't explain but could feel it deep down in her soul.

Something about this place was supernatural.

Chihiro couldn't explain _why_ she knew it was, or even _how_ she knew it was, she just knew it was. She, like everyone she knew, prayed to the gods and gave offerings to their temples since before she could walk. But never, in all her sixteen years of life, has she ever felt such a otherworldly presence that terrorized her so much that she felt like running home and hiding under her bed. Everything in her was telling her to go, that she would regret not leaving while she could, and to forget her father.

But Chihiro bravely walked on, ignoring all the voices and senses telling her leave, and started calling out her father's name. Because she knew, deep down, that she couldn't survive knowing she had left her father alone in the woods.

She couldn't lose another parent.

.

Chihiro shined her lantern through the thick blackness of the forest while frantically calling out her father's name. She's been searching for him for hours, and she was desperately trying to see if she could spot her father _anywhere_.

But it was no use.

It was too dark and there wasn't enough light from her lantern. Even with the full moon hanging in the night sky, she could barely see ten feet in front of her! At some point in her journey, Chihiro vaguely noticed that she was covered from head to toe in dirt and grime. Most likely because she kept tripping over loose roots and rocks throughout the forest. Her coat was also torn and ripped, and she had cuts from where the branches had grabbed at her.

But she found she could care less.

She just kept on going, desperately shouting her father's name into the night, hoping to catch even a glimpse of him with her slowly dying lantern, and wondering what would happen if she never found him?

'Don't think such things!' She scolded herself, peering her eyes out to see if she could spot her dad. 'I don't care if I have to be here all night! I will find him!'

.

One of the terrible things about lanterns is that they eventually go out.

"Oh no!" Chihiro moaned, as her last bit of light faded away. She shook the lantern in a sorry attempt to relight the flame but it was no use. It was dead.

She was left in darkness.

.

She was glad there were plenty of glittering stars in the night sky along with the full moon. For they were her only source of light as she tried to navigate her way through the woods without her lantern. She walked very slowly and felt her way across the dark forest. At some point Chihiro stopped calling her father's name, not because she wanted to, but because she just couldn't anymore! Her throat was sore and stiff, and it hurt to say anything. She had drank all the water from her jug some time ago and felt like reaching into her basket (Which miraculously survived the trip) and grabbing the jug of water she had packed but she firmly told herself no. Her father would probably need it if she found him.

'_When_ I find him.' She corrected mentally. '_I am_ going to find him!'

.

After about an hour, Chihiro started to get a little worried.

It was already twilight.

She had been out all night looking for her lost father and she felt she was no closer to finding him than when she first left the house. She was exhausted, she was hungry, and she felt like collapsing into a comatose on the forest floor. She leaned against a tree to catch her breath. She still had her basket and she was still fighting the urge to eat and drink everything in it. She looked up at the sky and started thinking happy thoughts to keep away the despair that was welling up inside her.

'At least there's light out now.' She quietly thought. 'It'll be easier to find him.'

Suddenly she heard a very loud sound and quickly turned around.

At first she didn't see anything but as she looked closer she could make out grey fur behind one of the trees.

Then golden eyes.

And large, sharp teeth.

'A wolf!' She thought terrified. 'It's a wolf!'

Suddenly more of them showed up behind countless trees and Chihiro stood petrified, just staring at them in shock, not really believing what she was witnessing right now. Oh sure Chihiro had seen plenty of wolves in her lifetime but they were already dead. Hunted for their furs and meat by her father and the rest of the village men. But these ones were so very much alive, and from what she could tell by the drool hanging from their chins, very, _very _hungry.

When one of them let loose an ear shattering howl, Chihiro snapped out of her trance and _ran_.

.

_"Never enter the woods, my little Sakura blossom. Especially at night! Even I, an experienced hunter, would never stay in past sunset. Terrifying creatures come out when darkness comes that are best left to the imagination. You must promise me Chihiro that you will never enter the forest. Ever."_

Her father told her that when they first moved here _years_ ago and Chihiro never quite understood why. After all, her father entered the woods to hunt practically every day and nothing bad happened to him. He even brought home lots of pretty items he found while hunting for his game. How could something that produces such beautiful things, like fruit and flowers, could turn out to be so bad?

And now, running for her life from a pack of wolves, she finally could see how.

.

She had been only running from the wolves for a few seconds when she stumbled across a clearing. She almost fell to the ground but quickly gathered her bearings and looked at her surroundings. She noticed the sun was beginning to rise so she was definitely facing east. She could see a statue but it was covered in moss. It looked old and had two faces, in the front and back. But Chihiro could care less about it. There was a bigger problem, a bigger situation she was faced with.

She was trapped.

A huge wall blocked her from going any further. She ran to it, poked and pried to see if it had any hidden doors or entrances. When that didn't work she quickly turned around to try to see if she could head in another direction.

And came face to face with twelve starving wolves.

She was surrounded in every way and completely outnumbered. She had her back pressed against the giant wall while hungry wolves stared at her from every corner. Chihiro quickly tried to figure out what she was going to do, how was she was going to make it out of this alive?

'The basket!' She quickly thought, looking down at it. 'There's food in the basket! I could just throw it to them and while they chase after it, I can make my escape!'

She felt bad about not bringing any food or water to her father but she knew he would understand. After all, it was the basket or her life. She quickly took out the first aid kit and stuffed it under her coat before she made her move.

"Take this!" She shouted, as she threw the basket as far as she could. She watched as it flew yards away and then disappeared into a part of the forest.

But the wolves didn't move one inch.

Instead they growled even louder and moved closer towards her. Chihiro stood in terror. She didn't know what to do. She was all out of ideas. She's never been in a situation like this before! She didn't know how to fight, though even if she did she doubted she could defeat twelve wolves at one time. She didn't even think her father could do that! She didn't have a small knife that she could use to defend herself with. She didn't even have a stick!

'What am I going to do now?' She thought, filled with despair.

Suddenly one of the wolves lunged for her.

She quickly shut her eyes and put her hands in front of her face on instinct, when suddenly she felt herself falling backward and a wind pick up, pushing her further back. She felt herself land on something soft and squishy. When she opened her eyes she saw that the wall, which was previously stone shut, had actually opened! She could see the wolves' hungry face closing in on her, too, and she thought for sure he was going to devour her, until the wall quickly closed itself on him.

Chihiro stared at the wall for a couple of moments of stunned silence, calming her rapidly beating heart, wondering what the heck just happened?

"What was that?" She asked herself out loud, not quite believing what just transpired. After a couple of minutes she got up and dusted herself off. As confused and frightened as she was, she still had a father to find. She turned around to see if she could make out where she was and gasped in shock.

_**"Oh my Spirits."**_

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_**Author's Note: Hey thanks for the reviews, favorites, and story alerts! I've been thinking about doing a Beauty and the Beast story for a long time but just didn't know where to post it. Then I saw Spirited Away and thought 'This is perfect!' I'm glad you guys like the story and I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was a bit short. The next chapter is titled 'The Spirit World' and I hope to post it very soon! Leave a review in the big box below to tell me if you liked this chapter or not. No reviews, no new chapters! Just kidding but seriously review. I like reviews! But constructive criticism only! Flames will have marshmallows roasted over them! Until then, see you later!**_


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